The King in the Short North?

The 4th of July is nearly here. And so is the Doo Dah Parade. Enjoy this post
courtesy of our summer intern Corinne.

What? You didn’t know the Short North had royalty?

In this Columbus Dispatch photo from July 4, 1985, Douglas Ritchey, the Emperor of Short
North: Protector of Italian and Victorian Village, leads the Doo Dah Parade down High Street.

The annual Independence Day celebration of “liberty and lunacy” known as the Doo Dah Parade was
founded in 1984 as a satirical parody on traditional parades. The idea was borrowed from the annual
Doo Dah Parade celebrated in Pasadena, California as an alternative to the Parade of Roses.

Instead of high school marching bands, cheerleading squads and baton twirlers, the Doo Dah
Parade promotes outlandish floats, unlikely drill teams, spoofs on politicians and as seen in this
photo, self-appointed royalty. The parade is also famed for being unorganized, often scheduling a
registration date for the day after the parade and a rain date for the day before the parade.

So if all this craziness sounds appealing to you, you might be interested to come out and
watch the “parade for people who hate parades” this July 4th in the Short North. For more
(non)details see the
Doo Dah Parade's website.